


Life is good

by mariabutnothill



Series: Life is good with you around [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/F, F/M, Happy Ending, M/M, dean doesn't die, happy new year, human!Cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28493391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariabutnothill/pseuds/mariabutnothill
Summary: Life is good to Dean and Cas Winchester.Or: a New Year's Day one-shot because it's a new year and we all need something to feel better.
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak, Michael/Adam Milligan
Series: Life is good with you around [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2123673
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	Life is good

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to go up earlier but I was busy... eating... because c'mon, this is a great day to over-eat
> 
> Also, happy new year!!

It’s weird, all of it.

He wakes up —for starters, _he wakes up_ — next to someone now, next to his biggest source of happiness: _he wakes up next to Dean._ Don’t get Cas wrong, it’s just odd after all those years of just _watching_ , or yearning, or wishing upon stars he or his siblings made fall, it’s _different._ Then, as his body begins to come back to life, he can feel Dean’s arms wrapped around him, particularly his waist or hips —and he is amazed by the self-control he has earned and still has to not react in any way to this, because he now requires a lot more—, or his very own legs tangled with Dean’s.

Most of the time he looks up, though sometimes he does look down, and finds Dean’s peaceful, sleeping face, with his long lashes against his freckled cheeks, his mouth slightly opened to let out quiet snores, his brows sometimes furrowed if he’s having a nightmare. And even if Cas has seen him sleeping for literal _years_ , he’s still marveled by it, especially while being this close.

He usually stays that way, admiring Dean for a long time until he wakes up slowly, stretching, his hot skin pressing against Cas and _oh, don’t think about it, not yet, not yet,_ a smile spreading across his sleepy face. Then, comes the first phrase either of them says in the morning, and it usually comes from Dean.

“Hey there, angel.” And he presses a kiss against Cas’s forehead. Cas smiles and kisses Dean’s chin, his hand shooting up to caress Dean’s face, which is scuffed for the day.

“Did you sleep well?” his voice is hoarse, raw, and his throat feels like sandpaper, but he doesn’t say it out loud, he doesn’t want to drink water and break the magical moment. Dean’s smile spreads wider as he sighs, his thumb circling in his skin, and then he nods.

“Of course. Did you?” he doesn’t want to talk about the guilt, the regret, the pain, sadness, everything that’s wrong, everything that’s going on inside his head right now because he knows Dean has enough shit on him to deal with his right now. Maybe he’ll get a therapist, one that doesn’t run off scared when he mentions the angels and the end of the world.

So Cas just nods and bops his lover’s nose. Dean groans and puts his hand on his hair, softly running his hand through it, and Cas hums because _there, right there, thank you,_ and it feels good.

“I did.”

“You don’t have to lie to me now, Cas.” Dean swallows, his Adam’s apple going up and down, and Cas has to stop himself from following it. But he fails and decides that kissing it will offer a distraction from serious topics. Dean groans and falls back in the bed. “Don’t. We need to get serious today. It’s been more than a month since you came back, Cas.” Dean puts his hands on his shoulders, putting some space between them.

“I told you I’ll get help,” Cas mutters. Dean sighs and brings Cas in for a hug, putting his face on his chest, running a soothing hand through hair that once was black, now brown from age and stress. _Can human hair change its color naturally? Not just to grey or even white hair._

“And I believe you. But trust me, it won’t be easy to open up to a stranger if you don’t open up to someone you already know first, sweetheart.” His heart skips a beat, did Dean just call him _sweetheart_? His face lights up and he kisses Dean, not caring if their breaths are smelly or their mouths unwashed, he just _needs_ to kiss him. Which is probably a bad idea, considering the pandemic that Chuck caused before he was defeated and Jack and Amara decided to leave it as it was. “Wow, what was that for?” he’s not complaining, his smile says it all, but Cas still feels the need to apologize.

“Sorry. You just called me ‘sweetheart’.” Dean smiles. Then he frowns.

“I love you, but I seriously gotta pee.” Cas laughs loudly as Dean stumbles out of the bed, the sheets tangled on his legs, bringing him to the floor with a dry sound. He stands up and pulls his pants up, taking a sweatshirt on the way, and disappears behind the door on his way to the bathroom.

Of course, Miracle takes the opportunity and enters the room.

“Oh, hey there buddy.” He no longer can hear what animals mean, but he has heard them long enough anyway to know what they mean. “It’s crazy, right? I still can’t believe I’m back too.” The dog jumps on the bed and lifts his paw at Cas. “Attaboy, Dean trained you well.” He smiles and hugs the dog. “As long as I would love to have an entire conversation with you, I’m afraid Dean will go crazy if he finds you on top of the bed. Let’s go.” He untangles his legs from the sheets and the heavy blankets and snaps his fingers so Miracle comes down.

He comes out to the hall and stops, watching Eileen with interest; she’s wearing frog-themed pajama pants, pink slippers, and one of Sam’s band T-shirts. She looks at him the same way, since he’s wearing his Batman-themed pajama pants —which Dean gave him as a present for Christmas a couple of days before— and Dean’s favorite Led Zeppelin T-shirt. She smiles at him and he returns the gesture. As they are side to side on the hallway, they high-five each other, having successfully achieved the goal they talked about a week after he came back.

The bathroom door opens and Dean ruffles Cas’s hair as he passes by his side, then leaves a casual kiss on his forehead, and he just doesn’t know how _good_ and _special_ that makes Cas feel.

He pees, brushes his teeth, and tries to tame his hair before opening the door to an impatient Sam.

“Thanks, man.” They whisper as they push the ex-angel outside so they can close the door. Because that’s another thing he came back to: Sam finally made peace with his whole identity. The look on Eileen’s face when she told him all about the events of the day before when, after years and years, Sam _finally_ told Dean he was pansexual and preferred he and they pronouns was priceless, she was so damn happy and _proud_ of him.

Jack is not there, sadly, since he and Amara —who now has a body, thank everything— have a lot of things to do.

But Cas knows the look on Jack’s face, because, after all, he’s his _son_ , and he knows that the kid wants to quit. _He’s just a kid, damn it._

He stares at the Christmas tree that decorates the living room from a corner.

Almost a week ago, they were all there —Sam, Dean, Eileen, Jack, Claire, Kaia, Alex, Stevie, Charlie, Rowena, Crowley, Bobby, Amara, Adam, Jody, Donna, and, hell, even Kevin and Meg, who was now in control of her body once again—, sitting around the tree, the fireplace on and crackling, mugs with hot chocolate and mini marshmallows that Dean and Eileen prepared with a dash of whiskey, all of them swapping and opening their presents.

Dean and Cas were wearing a matching set of plaid green pajamas and silly little Christmas hats that Charlie and Meg secured with bobby pins; Sam and Eileen wore the cheesiest matching sweaters, while Meg wore dollar store horns decorated with lights, a look Crowley wanted to copy but decided it was better for his well being if he didn’t do it.

He got them all things he made himself and, while they weren’t perfect, he made them with all his heart, especially Claire’s journals —one filled with information about almost every monster, inspired by Dean’s poor attempt of a father thank you very much, and another one completely blank so she could write anything she wanted— that he crafted from scratch, even if it cost him several glued fingers and many, many pokes with the needle as he tried to sew it together.

And Dean, what could be so special for Dean? He gave him his grace, the small amount of angel grace he still had after Jack had to take most of it to get him out of the Empty. It was inside a small, slim jar with a cork firmly sealing it in, and it was wrapped in a strip of leather to form a necklace. That, alongside a new journal —because, _fuck_ , making journals for scratch was now a passion of his and he had seriously thought about opening his very own shop of journals—, and, of course, a mixtape, had Dean sobbing on his shoulder and kissing Cas all night, not allowing Claire and Kaia to get a second under the mistletoe.

He got a lot of clothes, shoes, two new trench coats, books, a framed picture of TFW 2.0 from Jack, a stuffed bee from Meg, and cash from Bobby —who didn’t know what to gift him. But nothing, absolutely _nothing_ , could beat Dean’s present: Batman pajamas, a set of gel pens, and a lot of stuff to make his journals, from vinyl to special needles and thread, from special paper to colorful ribbons to make page markers.

He threw his hand to Dean’s neck and kissed the living hell out of him in front of everyone, which got mostly cheers and two or three snarky but lighthearted comments —like _fucking hell, Clarence,_ from Meg, and _I see he is your pretty boyfriend after all,_ from Crowley.

Cas feels strong arms wrapping around him from behind, and then a kiss at the top of his head, _never stop doing that_ , before he hears a sigh behind his ear.

“Thank you for giving me the best Christmas I’ve ever had.” And that’s when Cas melts between Dean’s arms because _how can anyone say that to him, and oh, how great it feels to be loved_. He can feel his grace pressing on his back, and he fears the fragile glass might break because of how tightly close they are.

“Thank you for giving me the best years of my life.” Dean doesn’t know how to respond, but Cas just _knows_ , and for that, he turns around and kisses Dean softly. They don’t need words, they don’t need prayers, they just need each other by their side.

“My poor, virgin eyes!” Claire yells, and that has them both breaking the kiss and laughing, hard.

“I refuse to make further comments.” Alex sits on the couch and Claire simply throws a pillow at her.

“Get up, breakfast is ready,” Jody announces, taking off the apron.

“I’m starving!” Charlie announces before running to the dining room. Cas makes the first move this time, taking Dean’s hand and lacing their fingers before tugging him slightly to make him walk. Dean looks down and stares at their hands, a smile brightening up his beautiful face, and lets Cas guide him.

They sit next to each other as Sam, Eileen, Jody, and, surprisingly, Meg serves them plates of scrambled eggs and crispy bacon, toasts with cream cheese and avocado, waffles with an unhealthy amount of syrup running down their sides, and fresh orange and apple juice —which Dean only drinks after Sam assures him that he made it and not Meg, who would have put all of the apple seeds inside his juice—, and Cas has to hide his laughter behind his glass of juice.

They eat between laughs and talks, snarky comments, and a few pieces of bacon flying over everyone’s heads that Miracle cleaned instantly.

And everything is so peaceful, so joyful, so domestic and familiar, that Cas has a hard time holding back his tears.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” his heart jumps once again at the name, he’ll never grow tired of it.

“Home,” Cas mutters, “this is home.” He hides his face on Dean’s chest, not wanting the rest of their little family to realize he’s crying.

“It is, Cas. We’re short with one son, but it is.” Cas laughs and raises his head, finding those pretty greens he loves oh so much.

“Alright, I want everyone out, New Year’s dinner won’t make itself.” Says Rowena, rushing everyone through the doors towards the living room. “Dean, Sam, Alex, Claire, Meg, Bobby, care helping your favorite witch?” she raises her brow as the ones she named nod, including Dean.

“I’ll meet you as soon as we’re done, okay?”

“Sure, darling.” It feels strange, letting the name slip out, but it feels so right. Feels like the first chocolate chip cookie he ate as a human, like the first pie Dean baked for him.

As he walks back to the living room, his eyes drift towards the framed picture Dean took of everyone when Benny was still alive. He wonders if Dean ever cooked for Benny, especially if he ever made a pie for him.

“Why so lost, feathers?” Crowley asks, sitting next to him. “Not thinking about me stealing your boyfriend, right?” Cas shakes his head, eyes set on his hands. “Just so you feel safer, I stopped loving him a long time ago. Might as well try with the pretty nurse over there.” Cas groans when Crowley points at Alex. Crowley smiles slightly, squeezes his knee, and gets up again to make his way back to the kitchen.

Cas isn’t sure he loved or even liked Crowley in the first place. Then again, polyamorous relationships were not his thing, neither Dean’s.

He takes out his phone to look at the hour. Ten AM, they still have a hell lot of time ahead before they gather; so he stands up and gets inside the kitchen, watching everyone move around while trying not to bump each other or knock over the various mixtures that are already ready.

“Huh, do you need anything from the store?” he wants to make himself useful, to _feel_ useful. Dean immediately looks his way and smiles, and that has Cas almost giggling. _Giggling, what is he doing with me?_

“Yeah, I ran out of cherries and apples.” He dries his hands with a rag and walks over at Cas. “Okay, two cans of cherries and a pound of apples, got it?” he’s taking Cas by the waist, which makes him dizzy, but nods nonetheless, trying to scribble a mental note about it. Dean kisses his nose and Cas smiles widely. Soon, he’s filled with more requests for ingredients of personal treats.

Once he gets out of the kitchen —finally—, he finds Eileen sitting by the tree. He waves his hand and begins signing a simple _“groceries with me?”_ to which she nods and jumps out of the couch, already wearing jeans and boots. She takes her jacket, Cas takes one of his new trench coats —after all, Crowley _did_ know the things he liked—, and they head out to the cold streets of Kansas.

Cas takes out the keys to Baby, _the goddamn keys for the Impala, thank you very much,_ and opens the door for Eileen. After fighting for the whole day, at around 2 AM on Christmas day, Cas _finally_ convinced Dean to let him drive Baby.

The drive is mostly silent, since Eileen is still somewhat sleepy and Cas can’t sign while driving because he put his mask on since they left the bunker.

They get to the nearest supermarket and they walk as fast as they can, especially Cas, who is still not that used to feeling cold. After taking a cart and doing the regular procedure, Eileen signs a quick _“I have to get something quickly”_ before rushing down the clothing section.

Cas simply chuckles and pushes the cart towards the fruits and veggies section, focusing on finding what Dean asked for first.

A few moments later, when Cas is grabbing two bottles of red wine, Eileen comes back, four boxes that vary in size and color filling her hands.

“I thought it was impossible, you know? To get pregnant? At least for me.” Cas opens his eyes wide, wanting to cover his mouth in amazement and happiness.

 _“Are you?”_ he signs. Eileen shrugs and leaves the boxes on the cart.

 _“I don’t know. This happened before, when I came back? But when I took the tests just one came back positive,”_ she slows down, even if Cas can understand her perfectly —how couldn’t he if he helped creating it in the first place?—. _“We went to a doctor but she said I wasn’t pregnant, and that if I wanted to then maybe I wouldn’t be able to do it.”_

 _“You’ll be a wonderful mother, I assure you that. And I’m sure this time is for real.”_ Eileen smiles, her eyes filling up with tears, and then she punches his arm playfully. _“I’ll keep it a secret from Sam.”_ He knows she doesn’t want to bring Sam’s hopes up, and he’s touched that she decided to share this with him.

They move between the aisles, fulfilling everything their friends asked for, and then head to pay. There, Eileen signs Cas, asking for candy, and Cas signs back with an _“as much as you want to keep you happy… and maybe the little one too”_ , so of course Eileen takes a handful of chocolates and another of all types of candy. The clerk looks weirded out, but says nothing.

“Happy New Year, thank you for what you did this year!” Cas says when the clerk, who can’t be over twenty, hands him his change and ticket. His eyes light up.

“Thank you, sir.” Then, he awkwardly signs a _thank you_ to Eileen, who happily nods and thanks him back, giving him a thumbs-up before leaving the store with Cas.

The ride back to the bunker is tense but happy with anticipation, sadness being an underlying tone to it all.

 _“You run to the bathroom, I’ll just deliver these in the kitchen and I’ll be right there with you.”_ Eileen nods and squeezes his hand, her other hand clutching the bag inside her pocket, and gets out of the car.

When Cas gets in, Sam looks at him with a strange look on his face.

“Why did she run?” they ask, trying to keep their humor up. Cas passes a bag of groceries to him and dismisses it with the hand he just freed.

“She wanted to go to the bathroom. The ones at the supermarket were closed.” Sam nods and asks nothing else, which is something Cas is glad for.

After Dean kisses him with gratitude, he excuses himself and runs towards the bathroom. He moves the handle a couple of times and Eileen opens, sighing in relief.

They wait there for two more minutes that felt like a total agony, passing by so slowly, until Eileen’s phone set the alarm on.

Cas stands from the floor instantly and rushes to Eileen's side, who gives him two of the tests.

“Three, two… one.” They both turn around the tests at the same time, and Cas has to make sure he’s not confused by the instructions a couple of times before he turns to Eileen, fear painted over his face.

“Oh…” she shows Cas the two tests she’s holding, turning to see the ones he’s holding. “OH.” Cas wraps his arms around her, lifting her in the air. She muffles her sobs with his ¿shoulder, the happiness she’s feeling being more than what she thought would ever be possible.

“You’ll be the best mother, Eileen. Congratulations.” He whispers once she’s away from him.

 _“Thank you. Really, thank you, Cas. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”_ Cas nods and gives her another hug before taking all the tests and wrapping them in toilet paper so he could throw them away in the garbage. Eileen throws in the boxes and Cas takes the bag, closing it.

“I’ll get rid of the evidence.” Eileen laughs and nods, still wrapping her head around it. After making sure that no one’s around, Cas comes out of the bathroom and walks back to the entrance as if nothing happened.

“What’s that?” Dean asks, his mouth full of cherry filling, probably the leftover.

“The bathroom’s garbage. Eileen passed it outside so I’m taking it out.” Dean nods and grabs another spoonful of filling.

After he throws away the bag, he sighs with relief, then turns around, opens the door, and walks inside again. He smiles at Eileen, knowingly, and goes in search of something to do.

Eventually, he finds it with Bobby, who invites him to cut logs for the fireplace.

Three long hours later, he’s finally back inside, his fingers frozen, his toes almost forgotten on his sensorial system. Eileen and Charlie bring them hot chocolate to warm up again, and soon they are joined by Jack and Amara, who appear at the door in stylish clothes (because, according to Jack, Amara knew _how to suit up for almost everything_ ) _._ They hug tightly and chat for a little while until Jack puts Cas aside.

“I’ll give my powers to Amara. She’ll find a new darkness.” Cas raises a brow, concerned. Before he can say anything, however, Jack talks again. “I’ll keep my original powers, you know? The cool ones? But… father, I don’t want to keep on going like this, with all this knowledge and responsibilities. I’m a kid, I’m not made for this.”

“Look, Jack, you were made for this, okay? You can hold this and so much more, but you shouldn’t. As you said, you’re a kid, even with all of the things you have and know now. So, as long as _you_ are okay with it, I am too.” He squeezes his son’s shoulders and brings him in for a hug. “I’m proud of you, and I know your mother is too.” Jack tightens the embrace for a second and lets Cas go.

“Alright, I’ll tell her.” He smiles and runs towards the living room, where Amara and Meg chat about something Jack doesn’t quite understand.

And hours later is when the fun begins. After both Jack and Dean convinced him, Cas is wearing black jeans, boots, a blue button-up, and a black jacket. He promises himself he’ll get more clothes like those, because they’re actually comfortable, and he feels so confident in them he swears he could wear them even to sleep.

They have dinner, sharing complaints and stories, smiles and tears, laughter and annoyed groans.

It’s finally towards the end of the dinner that Jack and Amara stand up.

“I don’t want to be God anymore.” Everyone looks at Jack as if he grew a third eye. “It’s cool and all, but I don’t feel like I should have this… this power, this everything. Someone who knows should have it.”

“Which is why _I’m_ taking his place,” Amara says, and Jack nods in agreement. “We came to the conclusion that I could exchange my power with someone else to take in the… huh, light.” Even if she’s now part of the family, she feels like an outsider. “Meg, Crowley… would you mind sharing the darkness?” Crowley’s spoon falls from his mouth and Meg just stares at her.

“You don’t have to,” Jack says, “we can give it to-“

“Fucking hell, yes!” they both yell at the same time, which causes Cas to chuckle slightly. Crowley and Meg look at each other dismissingly, but don’t add fuel to their mutual hate.

“As long as you’re not still a piece of shit who wants to torture my ass,” Meg says, annoyed, moving on her wheelchair. After the Shadow left her body, it took various things from her, such as her ability to sense her legs and some others she thanked, like some of her memories.

“As long as you’re not a fucking traitor,” Crowley states, reaching out to Meg, who shakes his hand aggressively.

When Jack and Amara sit, Dean stands up, ready to take one of the biggest steps in his life.

“Well, huh, over the past month I’ve had some talks with someone… someone some of you already know. Look, I don’t want to be a hunter anymore, as much as that was my whole life, the thing I was born to do… I don’t want it, not anymore. I have a family now.” He looks over at Cas and Jack briefly, then at Sam and Eileen. “Okay… huh, Sonny can no longer sustain his house for troubled boys… which is why I’m taking it, now it will be _Dean’s house for troubled youth_.” The whole table cheers, including Meg, and Sam stands up to hug his brother.

Bobby looks at him, proud, and hugs him too.

“How long is it until this year ends?” Rowena asks. By her side, Claire and Kaia smile at each other, and Charlie and Stevie get closer, ready to stand up and dance. Sam checks his watch.

“An hour.”

“Then what are we waiting for? We should be dancing!” they follow the witch to the living room, where the music begins playing.

Cas stays behind a little, a glass of wine between his hands, and smiles, leaning against the wall.

“Goddamn it, Cas.” Dean appears by his side, a beer in his hand. “We have a family. We have a home.” They both smile. Cas waits until Dean finishes his beer and kisses him.

“Marry me.” Dean freezes, and Cas is completely sure he fucked up. Then, Dean takes his neck and brings him in for a sloppy and passionate kiss, all tongue and lips and even teeth.

“As in, right now?” he asks, lacing their fingers together.

“Whenever you want to.” Dean smiles again, brings him in for another kiss, then pulls him towards the center of the room, where they can dance.

“Is she… y’know, pregnant?” Dean asks, pointing at Eileen with his chin. She’s dancing with Sam, her head resting on his chest, their chin resting on her head.

“How did you know? Don’t tell her I told you.” Dean stops.

“She is? Man, I just thought it was weird for her to not drink her entire weight in beer tonight.” Cas throws his head back in laughter.

“We don’t know yet… she took some tests, but she needs to see a doctor first. Let’s not get ahead of it.” Dean nods and takes Cas’s glass. He takes a sip and then leaves it on the small table that was pushed aside.

“My mouth is glued.” Cas nods and places his hands on Dean’s neck. Dean’s hands wander all the way down to his hips.

“Where are you setting the house? Here, in the bunker?” Cas asks. Dean shrugs.

“I would love to. I mean, it’s spacious, it’s safe, they will have plenty of places to go… but I don’t want it to interfere with your plans.” Cas nods. He’s planning on setting a small place for young hunters without a family who need to protect themselves.

“We can blend them. Most of them qualify as _troubled youth_.” He says dramatically. Dean snorts. The song changes. It’s almost midnight, and that’s Sam’s favorite song to close the year.

“Maybe… let’s forget about it for now, okay?” Cas nods, Dean bops his nose. “Man… I might get a niece or nephew, I have a son and an adoptive daughter, I have a family, a job, _and_ I’m engaged…” he shakes his head and looks up to the ceiling. “I don’t think this can get any better.” Cas shrugs, it always gets better.

“Michael was manipulated by dad. There’s no way he’s leaving your brother alone, he loves him.” Cas points his head at Adam, who is now trying to follow Jack and Claire’s dance moves. “He’s coming back. As a human, too, there’s no way he’s getting his powers back.” Cas brings Dean closer. Less than thirty seconds.

“Are we gonna kiss like those cliché movies?” Dean asks. Cas nods.

“You bet we are.”

And so they do, as soon as the fireworks on the TV begin exploding.

Life is good to Dean and Castiel Winchester. _Oh so good._


End file.
